The present invention relates to devices and therapies for use in neuromuscular care and more specifically to devices and therapies used to apply ischemic compression therapies to myofascial tissue affected by trigger points.
Health care professionals have learned that myofascial tissue in any part of the body can cause local pain and tenderness as well as referral pain to other parts of the body. For instance, a patient may have a focus of hyper-irritable tissue in muscles, fascia or ligaments along the cervical spine and the patient feels pain and tenderness in the neck with pain referring into the head or down into the shoulder and arm. This focus of irritable tissue is referred to as a myofascial trigger point. Ischemic therapeutic compression, e.g. static pressure, to the trigger point is one of the most effective therapies to reduce this focus of hyper irritable tissue over time, releasing it and the symptoms it causes. These symptoms include, but not restricted to, local pain, referral pain to other areas, restricted movement, loss of range of motion and weakness. These myofascial trigger points according to literature result from or are irritated by acute and chronic trauma, overuse, postural faults or stress.
Various inventions have been designed for self-care by patients through self-massage of these myofascial trigger points. For instance, one product discloses a cane like structure, having a hook-shaped end. A similar product is one that is shaped like a huge xe2x80x9cSxe2x80x9d, called The Original xe2x80x9cBacknobberxe2x80x9d II (U.S. Pat. No. D403,431). The user of these products reaches the product behind their person and, using the hooked end, begin massaging the trigger point.
Such products, however, cause the patient to tense up muscles to operate the device. The products may also be unusable by patients with arthritis and other such disabilities. Moreover, tensing of the muscles is intuitively counterproductive to the relaxation of the muscles needed to remove myofascial trigger points and may actually exacerbate other pre-existing trigger points or cause new trigger points. Accordingly, these devices have limited ability to produce the intended results.
Another product is a hand held device which has dowels inserted into a hand-sized main portion. The ends of the dowels are capped with spheres. The device looks much like a bug with a round body with fixed appendages. A health care provider holds the device, while pressing and sliding the device across the tissue to be treated. The patient can attempt to use the device by laying it on the floor, positioning their body above it and leaning their body against it to apply pressure. This device has substantial flaws related to size restrictions, lack of interchangeability and adaptability of treatment appendages, all limiting the applicability of this device. For instance, the size and length of the ball-capped dowels are not interchangeable, limiting the tissue and locations which can be treated with the device. A similar product looks like a child""s xe2x80x9cjackxe2x80x9d, the Original xe2x80x9cJacknobberxe2x80x9d (U.S. Pat. No. D377,100), is used in the same way with the same limitations, when compared to the myofascial rehabilitation board.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,233,966 (issued Nov. 18, 1980 to Takahashi) discloses a board with round knobs that can be moved between preselected locations on a board for acupressure of acupressure points. However, each of the knobs of this device are of the same length, diameter, and 90xc2x0 angle to the board, preventing the device from providing any variation of depth or angle of therapeutic pressure. Therefore, with each of the knobs being of the same length, the device is suitable for treating acupressure points of only one superficial depth.
A body contour massage device (U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,573 issued Oct. 13, 1998) is a device designed to xe2x80x9capply simultaneous pressure to a persons complete body contour as therapy for people with excessive spinal curvature.xe2x80x9d This device is designed to treat the entire paraspinal contour with 90xc2x0 projections, without the ability to specifically treat involved myofascial tissue with trigger points throughout the human body.
What is needed is a myofascial rehabilitation board that is stable and selectively presents the projections at a variety of angles to provide for stretching of the tissue and the simultaneously compressively treating myofascial trigger points throughout the human body including the back. Therefore, in contrast to other devices, a device should have projections that come in a variety of lengths, diameters, and angles to comfortably reach and effectively treat the trigger point with ease, regardless of the location within the body.
The present myofascial rehabilitation device is provided with a board, projections, tips, and a mechanism for retaining the projections. More specifically, the board defines a handle and bores therein. The bores may be of predetermined diameters ranging between xc2xcxe2x80x3 to 1xc2xdxe2x80x3. The bores may be of predetermined orientations, ranging from 30xc2x0 to 90xc2x0 relative to a surface of the board in combination and predetermined patterns.
The projections have first and second ends. The first end of each projection may being selectively engageable within the bores. The projections preferably are of predetermined diameters ranging in from xc2xcxe2x80x3 to 1xc2xdxe2x80x3 and ranging in length from 1xe2x80x3 to 4xe2x80x3 or more.
Tips may be sized to snugly receive the second end of the projections. The tips should be sufficiently shaped or compressible to provide therapeutic advantage and comfort between the tip and the patient""s body. Such tips may be removable or fixed at the behest of the manufacturer.
The mechanism for retaining the projections is used when the projections are disengaged from the board. Such mechanism may be a bag, clip or other feature for retaining the components.
The present invention further includes a method of using the board including the steps of pre-stretching tissue to be treated; arranging at least one projection on a myofascial rehabilitation board; relaxing against the board such that the projection applies ischemic compression therapy to an involved trigger point, such pressure to be applied until there is tolerable local discomfort and moderate duplication of the referral pain pattern for that trigger point, while avoiding tensing of the myofascial tissue. The patient then applies more pressure as local and referral discomfort abates to maintain mild referral discomfort; and ceasing the treatment when the referral discomfort abates and the trigger point releases.
Advantageously, the present invention provides a stable inexpensive piece of equipment that allows a patient to treat themselves under the supervision and instruction of a trained health care provider.
As a further advantage, the present invention provides a method of treatment that does not require the patient to contract and fatigue their muscles as part of the process of applying this therapeutic device in rehabilitation of their myofascial trigger points, thereby avoiding exacerbation of pre-existing active and latent trigger points in the patient, or the creation of new trigger points.
As yet another advantage, the device is easily adjusted so as to be able to treat myofascial tissues of different depths, angles and different locations on patients of a variety of different body shapes and sizes.
As still yet another advantage, the present invention is compact and does not require substantial floor space to use or store.
Further, the present invention is adapted to allow for treatment of several patients within the confines of a single clinical room simultaneously, if used in a clinical setting. The use of this device is applied passively by the patient, thereby preventing provider fatigue and injury.
Also advantageously, operative force for use of the device or method, being passive, does not exhaust the patient, allowing the patient to fully relax, increasing treatment efficacy, decreasing treatment times, and decreasing recovery period for the myofascial and fibromyalgia conditions.